Is bowling fun or is it an activity that is more akin to watching paint dry? This is the question that some people ask themselves, especially those who have never actually gone bowling before.
After all, it is a question worth asking and one that you may not know the answer to unless you’ve done it yourself.
While it’s fair to say that everyone has their own opinion about the level of excitement, or lack thereof, involved with a game of bowling, it is very much a decision that each person has to make for themselves.
That said, how are you supposed to make that decision if you’ve never gone bowling before?
Is Bowling Boring?
The truth is, some people really enjoy going bowling while others are completely bored by the very idea of it. The fun part about bowling is that it is all inclusive and is a great place to socialize, meet new people and make friends. Bowling can range in small to large group sizes therefore making it difficult to feel bored, alone or left out.
Is Bowling Worth Doing?
While you must make the decision about whether or not bowling is boring on your own, you may be wondering if it’s even worth taking your first trip to the bowling alley in order to see what it’s all about.
That’s a fair question, especially when you consider the fact that bowling largely involves sitting around in hard plastic chairs that look like they were designed in the 1970s while waiting for your turn to throw a heavy, breakable ball down a waxed alley of wood, all in the hopes of knocking down some pins that are 50 yards in front of you.
When you think of it this way, bowling doesn’t exactly sound like anything to get excited about, does it? However, it’s always important to look at things from every available perspective.
The truth is, some people consider bowling to be one of the most enjoyable activities out there. After all, it can be fun to see whether or not you can knock those pins down that are 50 yards away, staring back at you almost as if to mock you in their defiance.
By the same token, things become even more fun when you add a little friendly rivalry into the fold by roasting your best friend while beating them at virtually every competition you can think of. Even if you don’t particularly enjoy bowling as far as the activity itself is concerned, it can still be loads of fun if you’re better at it than your best friend.
Fun Is What You Make It
There is no doubt that some people are able to have fun at almost any activity, even those activities that aren’t particularly stimulating. That isn’t to say that bowling in and of itself is boring.
There are certainly people out there that find it somewhat exciting, and there are also people that would truly prefer to do something different.
The point is, some people are able to have fun at virtually anything they decide to do and others don’t seem to have a good time, regardless of the situation at hand. It might come down to determining which side you end up on as opposed to worrying about the level of fun involved with the activity itself.
One thing is certain, you can definitely have fun when you go bowling if you decide that that’s what you’re going to do.
There are ways that you can make bowling more fun than it might initially appear to be. As previously mentioned, you can strike up a friendly game of competition with your friends or family members. It’s not necessarily about being an expert bowler or even about having fun with the game itself.
It can easily be about simply sharing some bonding time with other people and enjoying the rush of adrenaline that you get when you win any type of competition.
If that’s not enough to make things exciting for you, you can ratchet things up a bit by creating a little side bet. For example, the loser has to buy everyone else on the team dinner that night. If you’re really lucky, the person that loses may end up having to buy everyone drinks.
Speaking of drinks, there are other ways that you can make bowling more exciting, even if you personally consider it to be one of the most boring activities ever invented.
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Not Your Parents’ Bowling Alley
The bowling alleys of today are nothing like the old school facilities that your parents or grandparents went to. If you haven’t been to one of these newer facilities, you really don’t know what you’re missing out on.
You may think that you absolutely hate bowling, that it is the most boring game in the entire world and then within five minutes of being in one of these facilities, your entire impression about the game changes.
These facilities have music piped in constantly, and they usually have some type of self-contained light show that is designed to work in conjunction with the music.
Some of them even have colored water fountains that do the same thing. Even if you end up not participating in bowling, you might be mesmerized by the surroundings themselves. Not only is this environment far more immersive than traditional bowling alleys, they seem cleaner and they’re more comfortable.
Remember those old plastic seats from the 1970s that you find in so many traditional bowling alleys? You won’t find anything like that in these places. Instead, you’re more likely to find big, cushioned recliners that come complete with heat and massage.
There’s no doubt about it, the bowling alleys have changed over the decades and they’ve changed for the better. If you haven’t experienced bowling in this type of environment, you owe it to yourself to do so at least once in your life. Who knows, you might decide that you have a newfound favorite hobby.
What About The Game Itself?
So what happens if you don’t have one of these fancy bowling alleys and the only thing you really do have is the game itself? You might think that bowling isn’t really all that exciting.
You might even think that it’s better suited for someone much older than you because it simply isn’t socially acceptable for a younger person to go bowling and really enjoy it. The truth is, some people are going to feel this way and they will be right.
However, others are going to decide that bowling is a fun game full of challenges that they can enjoy with a wide range of different people, even to the point of being able to play several different games without getting bored. The truth is, these people will be just as right as the group that feels like it’s just too boring to even mess with.
How Can Both Camps Be Right?
It all comes back to what was discussed in the earlier paragraphs. It’s about individual likes and dislikes. Some people absolutely love bowling and others not so much.
By the same token, some consider the game to be quite exciting and engaging and other people find it so boring they can scarcely hold their eyes open long enough to get through a single game.
If you really want to be fair, you could say the exact same thing about virtually any type of activity and you would be right, at least to a certain extent. Every person is different. Some people like to play cards, others like to bowl, and still others prefer far more adrenaline-inducing activities such as skydiving or deep sea diving with great white sharks.
For most people, the excitement level is somewhere in between these extremes. That said, it’s impossible to say that bowling is boring because it’s not boring to everyone. By the same token, you also can’t say that it’s exciting because it is exciting to some, but not to all.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, you have to be fair. You really have no choice but to say that bowling is an exciting activity for some people, yet others don’t really find it very engaging.
That’s certainly not to say that bowling is any less exciting than other activities, only that some people find it more enjoyable than others. So, what are you to do if you’ve never bowled before in your life and you’re trying to figure out whether or not you should give it a go?
Perhaps your best bet is to try it, at least once. Go bowling, give it an honest shot and see what you think. You might be bored out of your mind, but you also might have the time of your life. The point is, you will never know until you go and experience it for yourself.
Even if you don’t really think you’re going to have a good time, round up a few friends that you really enjoy being with and just go do it. Remember, life is about living every experience that you can.
If you really want to live life to the fullest, you have to be present in the moment. You also have to be willing to dance every dance, even if you’re not entirely sold on the idea initially. It is by doing these things that you discover those unexpected surprises where you have the opportunity to do something that is thoroughly enjoyable, something you would have never thought of doing on your own.
These are some of the best surprises and they can also make for some of the best memories that will last you for a lifetime. The thing is, they won’t happen at all if you don’t provide yourself the opportunity to enjoy them in the first place.
